Friday, July 18, 2014

Let Me Take You Around Pottery Barn Manila

When Dada and I started furnishing our starter home, we shopped mostly at IKEA, but Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware served as my inspiration.

I would visit the stores to browse, and keep catalogs I received in the mail as reference, convinced that if I studied them hard enough, I can totally recreate the rooms in our own home without any help from an interior decorator. Ahihihi.

When we moved back to Manila, I belatedly realized that with the lack of choices here, and the prohibitive costs of shipping things from abroad, I had missed my chance of bringing home the accessories and accent pieces from these US stores that I've always wanted for my own home - jute rugs, lanterns, the perfect table linens, party/entertaining essentials and such.

Not even Typhoon Glenda could stop me from going to the press launch. I excitedly went to meet my friend Cecile at her home so we could go together. I wanted to see what they had in store, and of course, usisa what the prices would be like here in Manila.

I am happy to share that prices in general are not so bad. The ones that I liked were reasonably priced. The furniture though, well, knowing how locally made furniture costs, are on the high end.

But that's expected given that these are mostly made in the US, North Carolina if I remember right.

And now, for a tour. I started on the right side of the store and walked around the entire ground floor before heading up the stairs to the second floor. Here's what you can find:

cozy seating and natural fiber rug, very "cottage in The Hamptons"

nautical glassware & barware starting at Php395

throw pillows Php1,950 (inserts start at Php595)

everything you need for a chic dining room is here, dining chairs start at Php12,500

linen napkins, Php1,950 for a set of 4. White catering napkins are Php1,450 for 6

Whether you simply need to select fabrics, throw pillows for your couch or want help in decorating an entire room, a Design Specialist will be happy to help you.

I actually asked the Design Specialist on how I can care for this jute rug I have my eye on, and she deftly advised that it was easy to maintain and just needed regular vacuuming.

jute rugs range from Php2,950 for a 3x5' to Php34,500 for a 9x12'

Of course, I was told it was best to use with a rug pad underneath, which should be coming in August.

Yes, while there's already plenty of eye candy in store, there's actually more pieces to come as Pottery Barn brings in more products in the coming months. Expect more colors and prints of slipcovers for their Anywhere Chairs and plenty of other items that you might see online or in catalogs but aren't here yet!